Postman R had a comment on Will's Deadspin post that last night effectively ended the MSM-Blogger schism. I don't think so, though: See Will's point that many in the MSM (Costas, Albom, Wilbon) undoubtedly thought that Bissinger spoke for all of them. That's kind of scary.

UPDATE 2: Bissinger is No. 58 on Google Trends' Top 100 most-searched terms at 9:30 a.m. ET. It is likely the highest he has ever been ranked. Tracking... He's up to No. 34 at 10:40 a.m.... He's No. 19 at 4:15, but he may have been higher earlier and I just missed it. (Correct: Apparently, he peaked between 11 and noon.)

More later.

UPDATE: Sporting Blog is doing something on the story, rounding up various thoughts. Here's what I threw in the mix:

"In the end, the hostility -- like most hostility -- is rooted in insecurity. That's not unique to 50-year-olds. Instead of griping (or shouting), I encourage anyone -- professional, amateur or anything in-between -- to take advantage of the emerging platforms of sports media in the way that fits them best... and leave everyone to produce (or consume) as each sees fit."

8 comments:

Have you realized that if you and your friends would respond like bloggers (make a joke out of it) instead of high school drama queens than you would win this epically trivial "battle"?

The title of your post alone is offensive--you're escalating a buzz bissinger meltdown into World War One. Update 1!! Update 2!!

I can't stand MSM's attack of blogs--it's unoriginal and repetitive. But I despise just the same, the retaliation/retort from bloggers. The solidarity, banding together baloney is annoying and superfluous.

Ignore it, and everything will be just okay. Nothing's worse than when a blogger gets called out and the rest of the "big name blogs" write masturbatory posts defending that blog.

Christ, get a life, write about sports, not some contrived drama. You're a drama queen.

It amazes me to see how out of touch mainstream media is with new media. It's like they have no ability to grasp that their opinions aren't really anymore important than a random sports fan who actually watches all the games and follows their teams.

I don't know, I guess more realistically they don't want to accept that they aren't that important.

I wonder if some of the bigger name blogger will be able to accept that their opinion isn't worth a whole lot either.

It's also interesting to watch those bloggers become the mainstream. Simmons is a perfect example. His writing is clearly tainted by the fact he has much greater access to the subjects he covers than several years ago.

While there are really grating aspects to this whole mess, what's truly unfortunate is the idea that bloggers are folks who are envious of where vetted journalists get to stand, with whom they rub shoulders, etc. The folks who are taking potshots are the same ones who could be (and have been) labeled as jock-sniffers, ie the MSM types. It's like the geek who finally got in with the cool crowd, only to be the most vociferous in hazing his once-peers.

this is a great entry on the Bissinger/Leitch altercation! My name is Peter Ricci, and I am a college student and writer who currently contributes to 'Too Shy to Stop,' an upstart online magazine focused on culture and the arts.

I found you entry, as it would turn out, while doing research for my own essay on the legendary 'Costas Now' episode. I focus first on how much I adore Bissinger, but quickly change focus to how wrong he is regarding his stance on blogging and why.

If you have the time, check it out! I’d love for you to read it and comment.

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DanShanoff.com is a sports-blog spin-off of my long-time ESPN.com column, "The Daily Quickie." Anchored by an early-morning post of must-know topics, the blog is updated frequently throughout the day with new posts and user comments.